Recap: Bowling Green vs. Buffalo

Bowling Green, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - James Knapke passed for 321 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and added 56 yards and a score on the ground to help lead his Bowling Green Falcons to a comeback win over the Buffalo Bulls, 36-35, in a Mid-American Conference bout at Doyt Perry Stadium on Saturday.

Knapke completed 20-of-39 passing and was sacked twice for Bowling Green (4-2, 2-0 MAC). Travis Greene carried the ball a team-high 14 times for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Ronnie Moore caught nine passes for 178 yards and a score. The Falcons have won two games in a row.

Anthone Taylor carried the ball 36 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns for Buffalo (3-3, 1-1), which snapped a two-game winning streak with the loss. Joe Licata completed 16-of-24 passing for 134 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and added a rushing score for the Bulls.

Buffalo struck first when Licata carried the ball for one yard into the end zone, giving his Bulls a 7-0 advantage with 5:36 to play in the first quarter.

Bowling Green wouldn't let the deficit last, as Greene found the end zone on a four-yard run play with 2:43 left in the frame to knot the score. The Falcons took a 10-7 lead early on in the second quarter when Tyler Tate made a 32-yard field goal with 13:56 to play in the half.

Just a few minutes after Tate's field goal, Licata connected with Ron Willoughby on a 16-yard touchdown pass play to retake the lead, 14-10. The Buffalo score came with 11:29 left in the second quarter.

Then it was Knapke's turn to take a one-yard run into the end zone, giving the Falcons a 17-14 lead with 8:52 to play in the half.

But Buffalo went ahead again, this time on a Taylor eight-yard touchdown run with 6:50 to play in the second quarter for the 21-17 lead.

It was Taylor again who punched in the touchdown to give Buffalo its first multi-score lead. Taylor took a handoff one yard into the end zone with 2:02 left in the first half, and gave the Bulls a 28-17 edge.

Tate connected on a 35-yard field goal try to slash the Buffalo lead to 28-20 with 19 seconds left in the half. The Falcons went into the midway break trailing by eight.

Bowling Green got the scoring started right away in the second half, as Knapke found Moore on a nine-yard scoring pass with 13:24 left in the third quarter. The score slashed Buffalo's lead to just one point, 28-27.

Tate then gave the Falcons the lead back, 30-28, with a 31-yard field goal with 8:07 to play in the third quarter.

The rest of the third quarter was quiet, and the fourth quarter started out the same way until Taylor notched his third scoring run of the game - this one from 12 yards out - to give Buffalo the 35-30 lead with 8:38 to play in the game.

With just over two minutes remaining, Bowling Green took the lead back on a Fred Coppet four-yard touchdown run. The Falcons went ahead, 36-35, with a two-point conversion fail after the score. It wouldn't matter, since the Falcons held on for the win.

Buffalo had the 234-187 lead in rushing yards, but Bowling Green held the edge in passing yardage (321-134) and in total offensive yards (508-368). The Falcons were able to overcome 11 penalties in the game and win in front of their Homecoming crowd.